Myostatin, or growth/differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8), belongs to the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily (McPherron et al., Nature 387:83-90 (1997)). The human myostatin gene has been cloned (Nestor et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 95:14938-43 (1998)), and it has been reported that myostatin immunoreactivity is detectable in human skeletal muscle in both type 1 and type 2 fibers. With respect to function, myostatin may play a role in negatively regulating the growth and development of skeletal muscle (Nestor et al., supra).
The first evidence that myostatin may play a key role in negatively regulating muscle development came from a study with myostatin knock-out mice (McPherron et al., Nature 387:83-90 (1997)). In the myostatin null mice, the animals were rather normal except that they were significantly larger than wild-type mice and had a large and widespread increase in skeletal muscle mass. Furthermore, it was also determined that two breeds of cattle, characterized by increased muscle mass, have mutations in the myostatin coding sequence (McPherron et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 94:12457-61 (1997)). Additionally, it should be noted that the serum and intramuscular concentrations of immunoreactive myostatin are increased in HIV-infected men with muscle wasting compared with healthy men, and correlate inversely with the fat-free mass index. These data support the hypothesis that myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth in adult men and contributes to muscle wasting in HIV-infected men (Nestor et al., supra).
In view of the above findings, a need exists for a manner of regulating myostatin activity, particularly in individuals who experience muscle wasting as a result of a condition or disease state such as, for example, aging, Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Multiple Sclerosis, and cancer. The present invention provides methods and compositions which may be utilized to help individuals with such muscle wasting conditions and provides further insight into the regulation of myostatin gene expression.